Almost a decade ago, I shared a traveling wish list on here with links to pictures of a small sample of all the places I want to see someday. I got another request through the social media stories I’ve been sharing to talk some more about places I want to travel to! I always wanted to do another post on this, anyway, because there are so many places. I felt like my first list included decent variety, and this post will, too. As I get older, I want to make travel more regular once I have more money to spend, and ideally, I’d like to take two trips per year. One would be a resort-style vacation, and the other would be more adventurous and exploratory, like seeing a national park or something else I’ve never experienced. I’m going to share 10 more places from my spreadsheet across a range of settings, so let me know what you think, where you’ve been, and where you want to go, too! I’m always looking for ideas!
New York City, New York
Okay, I realize New York City has been a hot mess for a while now, so I don’t know when I can ever expect to go and not get killed, but there are SO many tourist attractions I want to see here! From the Statue of Liberty that you’ll remember I played in a school play during my youth to the Top of the Rock and Times Square and more, it is truly iconic. I feel like everyone needs to see this city once, especially for its role in American history, and there’s probably something for everyone here. I would want to see a lot of the shopping opportunities, although any more I feel like they’re kind of the same in every city. The only Frankie’s Bikinis is in NYC, though…
I followed this fashion blogger who lived in NYC for a time when I was in high school, and she really did a number on my mental health, first to destroy it, then to revive it. She appeared to live such a prestigious life with a photographer bestie that was always capturing her in these incredibly editorial, luxurious photos that would make celebrities jealous, and she was drop-dead gorgeous. I was so jealous of her for the longest time. She was able to make a career out of her blog, something I’ve always wanted to do but realized I more than likely never will because I absolutely despise what the industry has become, and she was living in this luxury apartment on Financial District in Manhattan with the most gorgeous views of the city and Hudson River I’ve ever seen. She also married an Ivy League graduate who worked on Wall Street, which explains a lot and gave me more reason to envy her. She was basically living my dream shallow life, and yet, she’s the one who gave me tons of quotes I still have from that time that helped me reshape my perspective on happiness and life. But long story short, I’ve had this romantic fantasy to live in NYC, preferably in the exact place she lived in. I don’t think I’d like living in NYC at all anymore, but if I could find a hotel with the same sort of views, that would be enough to appease me.
Dubai
This is already becoming a cliché hot spot that’s popped up in recent years. I don’t know how I feel about crossing an ocean, but a lot of people have gone here, and I think it looks incredible. It’s in a desert but it’s this huge metropolis with some of the most amazing resorts and pools I’ve ever seen, and we all know that I’m a resort and water snob, and it has the world’s tallest skyscraper! Plus, I could ride a camel.
St. Lucia
I want to go to almost every Caribbean island thanks to Sandals and their resorts. Literally, I have almost every one of their resorts around the world on my travel list. St. Lucia looks incredible with their lush green mountains and beautiful Caribbean water, but it’s the RESORTS that make it for me!!!
Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota
Now this reminds me of something my family would like, but I would actually like it, too, because supposedly you can get great views of the Northern lights, and not to mention the STARS and views at night!!! This would be so romantic.
Machu Picchu
You’ve probably seen this surreal city in history classes. These views and the history here are incredible. This would be an amazing place to explore and see in person.
Punta Cana
I had an obsession with Punta Cana after seeing a flight going there on our way to Florida. Over the years, though, I actually found other tropical destinations I thought I’d rather go to instead, but looking at the images again, it looks like another turquoise tropical heaven. It’s still on the list!! I don’t think I could ever go to enough beaches! That’s the kind of life I’m meant for—being a beached whale. Literally. My family always gives me crap about having a flat head because I laid on my back during my whole childhood. That’s still my favorite position.
Norway
My family on my mom’s side has Norwegian ancestry, and I think my grandma has always wanted to go to Norway, too. I don’t know what relatives we’d see, but I have been wanting to go here for a long time because of the views!! I realize this is broad to list the whole country; I’ve seen a variety of things you can do, and you can get an idea of all there is to see by looking through the photos. I love its proximity to the Northern lights, although it looks cold aka HELL to me, but I saw these insulated igloo resorts on Instagram in several European countries. THAT would be incredible and too romantic for words: just relaxing in an 80-degree igloo with a fireplace and a glass dome of winter views and cosmos. Seriously, look it up.
Sea of Stars in the Maldives
This is something that doesn’t even look real, like it’s from another planet. This is a beach with black sand and glowing blue orbs cascading in from the ocean. I have a whole bunch of resorts I want to stay at in the Maldives, another tropical haven on my bucket list, but this is a must-see in and of itself. It’s on a different island than my resorts, though, so I’ll have to find a different one or factor in a plane ride, which I’m not too sure about, because you hear of so many people dying in small planes. ANYWAY, my next post should be all about resorts. Just list 10 of my favorite Sandals resorts I’m going to 😂
Lake Cumberland in Kentucky
I got this idea from the NYC blogger, too. 😂 This looks like a bigger version of Okoboji, but I LOVE Okoboji, and it looked so beautiful in her pictures with the trees around the water.
Boone Hall in South Carolina
This is giving me my fairy/ethereal/garden vibes I love. This place is gorgeous and has a lot of history, too. The photos here would be stunning.
Okay, we made a good dent in my spreadsheet, actually. What we missed are a lot of tropical islands and resorts and more cities; plus, I have a ton of unique national and state parks on there, too. Let me know which places I should add and which are your favorites!